Characters are always the property of Stephenie Meyer.
Chapter 2 Destined
Felix moved with the same vigor and stamina he had when we began our private party more than thirty six hours ago. If he possessed a special power, this would have to be it. He was a complete maniac in bed. It's probably one of the main reasons I stayed with him so long. He could certainly bring women far weaker than me to their knees.
Actually, I was the lucky one. Felix stuck with me after spending the past half century asking for marriage. It was something I could never give him. To me, commitment like that would be toxic. When someone held claim over someone else like that, it was much easier to get crushed. I'd seen love do horrible things to people.
I was my own person and desired to stay that way. My soul belonged only to me and I would never give it to another to destroy. That didn't mean I couldn't feel it, but with my occupation, it was safer to keep myself distant from everyone. You never knew when the person standing next to you ended up in a cell. It would make things more difficult if I feelings were involved. I couldn't just hand out pieces of myself and risk pain later. There was no excuse to leave myself open and exposed like that.
So, I had always been careful with my emotions, never getting too happy, or angry, or melancholy. Not even amidst the throes of passion could I ever totally let my control go. The implications were too great. With Felix, I was hesitant to say no feelings were involved, but I still kept my soul out of it. Secretly I wondered if that was the reason he always found his way back to my bed. I was the only woman in the world who could resist the pull of his seduction.
Sort of.
When he pounded against me like this, it was hard to concentrate, to keep my mind centered. Each powerful thrust between my legs sent pulses of pleasure radiating outward. In spite of everything, Felix warmed my cold soul.
On the other hand, know when to say when. The corpse in the corner was beginning to stink and I needed to get it out of here. We shared an intimate snack after Jane left, but had yet to leave the bed and clean up after ourselves. Our gluttony was turning rank and I was finished smelling it.
I placed my hands on Felix's shoulders and pushed. He tried to ignore my gesture and pumped harder into me, increasing his tempo. He growled my name in a menacing voice and lowered his face to my neck, trailing bites and kisses down my neckline. His urgency grew stronger.
"Enough," I snarled and pushed harder.
All movement ceased. Without pulling away, Felix gazed into my eyes, reading them. After a few silent seconds, he sighed heavily and rolled off. For a moment, we laid staring at the ceiling, panting, though there was no need.
"Will you ever let me finish, Bella, or will my balls remain permanently blue?" he whined miserably.
"If it didn't take you so damn long."
Felix smiled, turned toward me and lifted his head to rest on his elbow. I took a moment to enjoy the broad chest and sculpted muscles of his pale body. He was undeniably gorgeous, sexed-up like that, but if I kept staring at him we'd be back at it for another day and a half.
I jumped off the bed and reached for my silk wrap. Felix groaned and I reached over to ruffle his dark hair before prancing toward the bathroom, giving my hips an extra shake because he was a total ass-man.
Closing the door, I slipped from my robe and turned the water on. I climbed into the shower and let myself be submerged by the pounding against my neck and back. My muscles were bundled into tight knots. I mean, there are only so many times you can cum before the sensations numb and release becomes utterly impossible. I ended up more wound up than was I should be after hot vampire sex. Of course, after a century with Felix this was a very familiar feeling. I wanted to feel him cum. That's what gets me off.
I was lost in the rhythm of the water hitting my body when a pair of hands slipped gently around my waist.
"Can't you wait until I'm done?" I asked, as he moved into the spray and pressed his cock against my ass.
"No," he growled at my ear, "evidently I have something to prove to you."
He positioned his hands at my waist, adding just enough pressure to cause me to bend slightly. Before I even had the chance to chastise him for his presumptuousness, he pushed hard into me. I gasped. He took it as encouragement and slammed in me, over and over. My skin rippled as he rocked against me, grunting and dominating. I searched out a handhold to brace myself against his furious thrusting. One hand ended up knotting in the shower curtain and the other against the sparkling white tile.
Harder and harder he pushed. Deeper and deeper he went, moans mingling and echoing with mine. The tile loosened and cracked under the increasing pressure of my palm.
"Felix," I hissed, feeling myself inch toward release again. The shower curtain ripped loose of the rod sending metal rings bouncing all over the bathroom. I untangled my hand with a quick shake and reached around to grab his thigh. His muscle flexed as he moved in and out, energy building with each forward movement.
Suddenly, his whole body went rigid as he slammed hard into my ass one last time, expending all his energy in the powerful thrust. His grip tightened on my hips as he held me in place. He groaned, a low feral sound and his orgasm pulsed throughout my body.
He held us together like that for a moment longer before stepping back and out of me. I stood up with the most affronted look I could manage and narrowed my eyes. I hadn't gotten my own climax and I was ticked.
Felix met my glare and smiled, actually snickering a little. "The reason I go so long is for your benefit, Isabella, not mine."
The air gusted from my lungs and I was speechless. Felix was rarely so blatant. I turned my back to him quickly and buried myself into the streaming water again. He slapped my ass playfully, grabbed one of the white cotton towels and left the room, chortling to himself as he went.
Needless to say, Felix's little declaration roiled in my stomach. After finishing my shower, I exited the bathroom, back in my thigh length robe. I sent him an icy stare and went about getting ready for work, diligently ignoring him. He lounged on the bed, wrapped in the towel, and smiled as I finished throwing on a knit dress and wrapped my damp hair into a tight bun. When I opened the door and stood next to it, he finally came downstairs.
"I can't help the way I feel about you," he said softly and excused himself with a kiss on my cheek.
My mood only darkened as I slid into the sewers to begin my day. It was actually lucky that I was going to be able to blow off some of my aggression on some unsuspecting prisoner. I needed an outlet today. Almost immediately, I heard the sound of light footsteps behind me.
"Isabella!" Jane called out. "Wait up!"
Even without slowing my pace, she caught me easily. It's not like I was running. I just wasn't in the mood for socializing.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you. Did you get my messages?" There was a rare undercurrent of excitement to her tone.
"No, well, Felix does keep me busy when he's in town," I grumbled moodily.
Jane snickered. "That's not what I meant. We caught another Cullen. The girl's mate!" In a lower tone she added, "He's obnoxiously sexy."
I raised an eyebrow, entirely too eager over the turn of events to remember the raincloud hanging above my head. "Her mate?"
"Yeah, he just walked right in the front gate like a tourist."
Jane was right. He was extremely attractive indeed. I'd always wondered about Jane's...er, orientation, actually leaning toward asexual, so it was a relief to see she did have a preference and it wasn't Alec.
When we entered his cell, the blond man was sitting on the stone floor and staring at me purposefully. He was tall and thin, but broad through his chest and shoulders which were accentuated by a tight fitting cream turtleneck. With eyes blazed in defiance, I stretched a cool smile across my face for him.
"Careful with this one," Jane whispered. "He makes you feel emotions that aren't your own."
"Wait, have you already been here with him? Who did you partner with?" I demanded angrily. Jane ducked her head, giving me the only answer I needed. She had disregarded protocol. "What is wrong with you?" I scolded. "You are never to engage on your own, no matter what! That was completely reckless. If his power is as strong as I've been warned, he could have persuaded you to do anything! Release him! Release the girl! Are you insane or just stupid?"
"I don't need to use her," a deep American accent uttered behind me.
I whirled around to face him. "What's that supposed to mean?" I snarled.
"It means I'm not interested in your partner. I can't make people feel emotions they are incapable of having." His voice was easy and smooth. It irked me.
A strange tingling suddenly fluttered in my stomach. I had to concentrate much harder than I'd had to in nearly two centuries to shield myself from the onslaught of his emotional manipulations. In the beginning, I had only been able to block out mind powers, but after I spending countless years training I was now able to block all power attacks except physical ones. I was surprised by the sheer strength of his.
As the feeling subsided and I regained myself, I took two quick steps forward and swung my leg back. My foot collided squarely with his chin, like kicking a football. He was momentarily dazed, before his body reacted, coiling on itself and ready to lash out.
"I don't think you've become acquainted with Jane's powers. She, too, can make you experience feelings that are not your own." I nodded at her to give him a taste of the Volturri's power.
When nothing happened, I looked back at Jane, still standing at the entry way. "Jane," I insisted, my tone cold, leaving no room for her silent denials. No matter how attractive the blond was, or how pissed she was at me for calling her out, we had a job to do. It would simplify the process if he understood what he was up against right away. In his doubt lay our victory over the Cullen Clan. My instincts told me he was a weak link, weak in a way the other Cullen was not. It wouldn't take me long to discover his Achilles heel and take advantage.
A moment later, the vampire slid to his back and began twitching. Only one grunt of pain escaped his lips and I had to admit I was impressed. Jane had the power to torture someone into insanity, but this one was strong. A warrior. The scars on his neck and wrists attested to that. Maybe my assumptions were not completely accurate. The Volturi could benefit from strength like this. I waved Jane off quickly.
Bending over him, I spoke softly. "You see? We are not without some tricks of our own."
"Where's Alice?" he asked me, dismissing my taunt.
The pain had already dissipated and he sprang to his feet and looked me in the eyes. The intensity of his stare burned and I felt the fluttering in my stomach again. It was going to take a conscious effort to keep him from tweaking my mood. I pushed the sensation down until it disappeared again.
"She's safe, for now," I answered nonplussed. I didn't want him knowing he could get to me. "Tell me, how did you two meet?"
"Fuck off!" he spat back.
"Temper, temper dear. Jane might not feel a plethora of emotion, but she is no stranger to anger."
The man backed down, slumping back to floor.
"It doesn't really matter to me, anyway," I went on, pacing back and forth in front of him. "I don't give a shit about you or your pixie or your family's dietary habits. Understand I have a job to do and you can help simplify it for me. You can save your mate and the two of you can go about your happy little way."
I quit walking and stared down at him, adopting my favorite stance reserved for intimidation. My hands were at my hips and my legs spread wide. I purposely pushed my shoulders back, giving the impression I was broader than I actually was. But it was the face that really did it. My eyes were narrowed and my lips curled away from venomous teeth in a sadistic sneer. "You, my friend, have a choice to make."
I saw him lean back slightly, before recovering and producing a scowl of his own. "No. Alice first."
I laughed, a light sound echoing through the cell as Jane joined me. "I think you may have misunderstood."
Jane hit him in the nose with a clenched fist. This time I could tell she put all of her force behind it. The man grabbed his head and whipped it back and forth. It took him longer to shake the pain this time, but I waited until the haze disappeared from his eyes so he would not be able to misunderstand again.
"I am the one in charge here," I hissed.
I aimed another kick at his face and felt with satisfaction as my toe connected hard with his nose.
After leaving the man with some things to think about, Jane followed me down the hall to where the girl was incarcerated. She was standing expectantly when we entered her cell.
"You're late," she said lightly. Her tone betrayed no hint of fear, only expectation as she stared us down. This was the reason I found the male weaker than she. She already seemed to be a step ahead of us.
"You're lucky we're here at all. I have half a mind to let you rot," I snapped back and walked confidently toward her. "As I'm sure you're aware, we have captured your mate."
The girl nodded, eyes drifting to the floor. "He came for me."
"Yes," I sneered. "Just as you said. Now, tell me where the rest are hiding. It will make things easier for you if you just tell me."
Her nodding became shaking. "The future is fallible. I only get glimpses. Most things aren't concrete. The decisions-"
I cut her off. "You mean they haven't decided to come for you yet?"
The pixie's eyes snapped back to mine. She was smiling again, just like that. "At least a dozen times."
My patience was waning. I called Jane over in a bored tone.
The Cullen girl fell immediately to my feet, shaking and shrieking as Jane pulled her mind and body apart. I paced back and forth a few times, allowing Jane to have a little unbridled fun and bring the prisoner closer to cracking.
When Jane finished and the girl lay panting on the cold stone floor, I spoke again. "Don't talk to me in riddles."
Jane chuckled a bit from behind, but the girl did something truly surprising. She apologized. "I'm sorry, Bella. I wasn't intentionally trying to mislead you."
"Then you mean to give me the information I want? All locations of Cullen property so we can search the others out and bring them in for questioning?"
She blinked. "Even if I did know every single home they owned on every continent, I couldn't tell you that. They're my family."
"And your mate? Does his life mean less than theirs?" I asked her.
Grimacing, she answered again. "All life is equal. I love all of them and would gladly sacrifice myself to save them. If I can, I will. Jasper would do the same. I'm sorry Bella, but our secrets are ours to keep."
"Jane, leave us," I suddenly snarled. I could sense Cullen's body tense warily.
"But," Jane started, assuredly going to bring up my reprimand for her interrogating the other Cullen on her own, but I had no need of arguments today. I was the superior officer and she would do as ordered. I turned and quickly shot her a cold stare. She huffed a little, but exited with no further comment.
Once alone, I walked up the pixie and crouched down next to her crumpled frame. I could see her eyes were now as black as her hair. The thirst must be excruciating.
"If you have no intention of telling me anything, why are you talking so much? Surely you realize if we don't get what we want we will kill both you and your mate, and never stop until the entire clan has been dealt with. Nothing can change an official order from the Brothers, and all three of them signed your death warrants." My tone was soft, but still threatening.
She looked at me for a long, silent moment. "I will tell you something, Bella. The Brothers' days are numbered. This will be your empire soon enough."
I laughed aloud. "There are no threats to the Volturi, unless you're implying that your family is capable of overthrowing them?"
The pixie shook her head, unwilling to divulge more of her visions of the future.
"It wouldn't be hard to request a meeting with Aro. He'd be eager to know what you have seen."
"You don't want to do that, Bella." Her voice was soft, almost sad.
"And why not? Afraid we'll find the others?"
Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized my features. The intense way she eyed me knocked me off guard for a second. "For the sake of your existence, Aro can never touch me."
When I let my shocked silence speak for me, she said something that would change my existence forever.
"Every decision affects the future, Bella, but sometimes it doesn't matter. Sometimes the outcome remains the same no matter what path takes you. I have seen it thousands of times and each premonition ends the same. You're the one that will destroy the Volturi."